Opinion

Winter Is Coming: Examining the Economy's Eight-Body Problem

From the devastation of the service industry to never-ending central bank intervention, these factors make predicting the future of the economy nearly impossible.

By Nathaniel Whittemore

Aug 21, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. UTC

Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 9:46 a.m. UTC

By Nathaniel Whittemore

Aug 21, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. UTCUpdated Sep 14, 2021 at 9:46 a.m. UTC

By Nathaniel Whittemore

Aug 21, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. UTCUpdated Sep 14, 2021 at 9:46 a.m. UTC

From the devastation of the service industry to never-ending central bank intervention, these factors make predicting the future of the economy nearly impossible.

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This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io.

The “three-body problem” is a physics issue that deals with unpredictable futures.

In a recent essay, John Mauldin argues the economy is actually experiencing an “eight-body problem.”

On today’s episode, NLW explores each of those dimensions shaping the challenge we face, including:

Central bank intervention
The destruction of the service industry
The implosion of global trade

In the end, he argues that in a world ruled by chaos, fighting to control the narrative might be the only rational move.

Read Ben Hunt’s essay “The Three-Body Problem.”

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